


pulse quickening

by helloearthlings



Series: The Heart is Hard to Translate [5]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Secrets, TAZ Amnesty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22153117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: “Hi, welcome to –” Emily cuts her usual spiel off within a second of seeing who’s there. “Oh, it’s you, Benny! What a surprise!”Emily shuts her laptop – she should ask Ben about her article, he would know about what happened on the night of May 1 – but it doesn’t matter too much right now. Ben rushes behind the desk to scoop her up into a bear hug. It’s amazing how much force he has when he’s several inches shorter than Emily even when she’s wearing flats.“I thought we’d come say hi,” Ben releases her from his iron grip, but his brilliant grin when he stares up at her never fails to make Emily flush. She doesn’t think Ben’s ever noticed her sweaty palms when he comes in the door, but she wipes them on her dress anyway before she looks up to greet Ben’s companion.
Relationships: Ben Arnold & Sammy Stevens, Ben Arnold/Emily Potter
Series: The Heart is Hard to Translate [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1575949
Comments: 16
Kudos: 97





	pulse quickening

**Author's Note:**

> Starting my first post-grad job tomorrow, but hopefully will write another installment before the weekend!

_The Monongahela National Forest is never left in complete silence, as we so often imagine the woods to be without the scuttles and footfalls of human bodies. The night of May 1 was different. Even the wind seemed to still before the darkened woods erupted in a single shrieking –_

Noise, Emily sighs and pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose, is not a strong enough word for what she heard in the woods last month. She’s been trying to get this article right for the June edition of the Lamplighter all of May. Still, everything she types sounds too trite and overdramatic, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, too mild and watered down.

“Excuse me, which way is the exit?”

It doesn’t help, of course, that she’s consistently being interrupted by the various tourists traipsing their way through the Cryptonomica. Still, a busy day is better than a slow day, and the older woman with the walking stick blinking over at her expectantly is more polite than most.

“Just down the hall,” Emily doesn’t have to pretend to be cheerful as she points. She likes the tourists that the Cryptonomica attracts into town. They’re all talkative, and love to be interviewed for the pieces she writes. She’s grateful for their presence here – they keep the lights on, as Ron says.

Still, that doesn’t stop the twinge in her head when the bell over the front door tinkles once more.

“Hi, welcome to –” Emily cuts her usual spiel off within a second of seeing who’s there. “Oh, it’s you, Benny! What a surprise!”

Emily shuts her laptop – she should ask Ben about her article, he would know about what happened on the night of May 1 – but it doesn’t matter too much right now. Ben rushes behind the desk to scoop her up into a bear hug. It’s amazing how much force he has when he’s several inches shorter than Emily even when she’s wearing flats.

“I thought we’d come say hi,” Ben releases her from his iron grip, but his brilliant grin when he stares up at her never fails to make Emily flush. She doesn’t think Ben’s ever noticed her sweaty palms when he comes in the door, but she wipes them on her dress anyway before she looks up to greet Ben’s companion.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Sammy, the tall, lanky man that Emily met in the mall, addresses her politely. He couldn’t be more different than Ben in appearance: tall and rail thin, with his long, spooling hair tied back on top of his head and dark eyes set in stark contrast to the pale alabaster of his skin. Emily could easily place him in any of the various vampire novels she’d read over her life.

He doesn’t quite meet her eye, but he reaches his hand out to shake hers and Emily takes it. His hand quivers, as if the movement is unnatural for him.

Emily clasps Sammy’s hand with both of her own. He needs to know that this is a good place and Emily is a good person who isn’t going to hurt him.

“Hi, Sammy,” she squeezes his hand, not too tight. His smile becomes softer around the edges, less anxious. “It’s good to see you, too. How are you enjoying our wonderful Amnesty Lodge?”

Sammy’s eyes dart to Ben before he answers. “It’s – it’s good. Ben is showing me around town.”

“It took you long enough to come and see me, then,” Emily teases, hoping that neither of the boys sees that she noticed the way Ben stepped a little closer to Sammy, green eyes huge with worry. Ben’s never been any good at hiding his emotions in all the time Emily has known him.

Nearly eight years now, eight years in September, Emily reminds herself. She can’t help the spike of regret that she feels whenever she thinks of that number growing without her saying anything to Ben about how their friendship has never changed into anything except just that – just friends. Always _just friends._

“Well, we _did_ need to come and pick up some stuff from Ron,” Ben admits, scuffing his shoe against the floor. Emily can’t help but giggle, forgetting her worries, when he scrunches his face up in the way that he _knows_ always makes her laugh. “You’re just a bonus.”

Ben’s face nearly purples before he quickly adds “Not that – I mean – I don’t mean to say you’re – um –”

Emily opens her mouth to take pity on his stumbling, another nagging feeling in her chest about things she needs to tell Ben before he moves on for good. _C’mon, Emily, he’s already moved on for good, what are you even considering the alternatives for?_

Sammy interrupts before Emily can, curling his arm around Ben’s shoulder, the movement much more natural than his handshake with Emily. He’s definitely the type only comfortable touching people he knows and trusts. “Ben says that this is a, um – cryptid museum? Am I – saying that correctly?”

Emily nods, glad for the self-deprecating grin on Sammy’s face. He’s willing to let Emily do her usual tourist routine. She wonders how much Sammy knew about Kepler before he came here, and figures, as with most Amnesty residents, that it wasn’t much.

“Our area is famous for various sightings of unbelievable creatures only ever seen in storybooks – and our famed national forests,” Emily winks, and notices Ben visibly relaxing into Sammy’s side. Ben is the kind of person who takes to physical intimacy quickly. Emily has always considered herself somewhere between the two extremes. “Our roadside museum pays tribute to Mothman, Bigfoot, and many others. We have various records of accounts of sightings, along with possible footprints, hairs, and the like. You’re welcome to take a look around!”

Sammy nods, but doesn’t make any moves into the museum behind Emily, instead curling his hand on top of Ben’s shoulder. Emily notices that, despite the June heat, Sammy’s wearing an overlarge sweatshirt from a high school in DC.

She wonders if Sammy’s from the DC area, before it belatedly clicks that of course it belongs to Jack.

Residents at Amnesty Lodge are of the permanent variety, and rarely bring possessions from their life beforehand.

“I hear Troy got in a tiff with Gunderson last week about pet ordinances,” Emily turns her gaze to Ben, letting Sammy be. “You hear anything?”

That’s basically a cue for Ben to rant for as loud and long as he wants – riling him up has always been a favorite pastime of Emily’s – but the door to the offices behind Emily swings open before Ben can launch into a tirade against local law enforcement.

“That the boys from Amnesty?” Ron bellows. Sammy flinches at the noise, and apparently Ben notices just as well as Emily, if the way his hand clenches protectively around Sammy’s wrist is anything to go by.

“Sure thing!” Emily calls back, and Ron appears in the entrance to the hallway two seconds later.

“You must be Sammy Stevens _,”_ Ron comes forward and Emily almost warns him off shaking his hand, but Ron foregoes that by clapping Sammy on the back. That would make anyone’s knees buckle, but Sammy holds his own pretty well, even looking up into Ron’s eye. Most people find that a bit hard to do – Ron, despite his kindness, gives off extreme _do not fuck with me_ vibes. Emily had been intimidated at first, too, and the only reason Ben never had been is because he’s known Ron practically all of his life.

Ron ruffles both boys’ hair simultaneously. Sammy’s eyes widen in surprise, while Ben just rolls his. “Good to see you both. You’ll have to come out fishing with me one of these days, you hear, Benny? No arguments.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ben says weakly as Ron thumps the top of his head. Emily smothers a giggle behind her hand.

“Do you know Herschel and Cecil, then?” Sammy asks, and his shoulders tighten protectively, expecting some sort of judgment for asking. “I just – I mean, I know they like to fish.”

“I only see them a dozen times a day,” Ron chuckles, brushing Sammy’s shoulder with a large hand. Sammy seems a bit comforted by it, but it’s hard for Emily to gauge. His body language is just so taut. “They might be out back as we speak. But Benny here promised me _last summer_ he’d come out in the boat, and now that he has a new best friend who deserves to experience the majesty of all Kepler has to offer –”

Emily clears her throat, trying not to let on that she noticed both Sammy and Ben blush when Ron said _best friend._

“Maybe a _better_ introduction to town would be our horror movie night next Saturday,” Emily says, and Ron makes an approving noise. “We’ll have a big cookout beforehand – Tim and Mary will always come by with Ben, and sometimes we can even convince Jack to take a night off from doing…Jack things.”

“Jack is taking a lot more time off from doing Jack things lately,” Ben says with a smug look on his face as he elbows Sammy. “Jack has new things now.”

“Do you like horror films?” Emily cuts Ben off. She senses Sammy’s discomfort, even though she knows that Ben isn’t making fun.

Her change of subject doesn’t seem to help, since all Sammy gets out is “ _Um_ ,” before glancing at Ben with wide eyes.

“He prefers romcoms,” Ben declares, and Emily decides it’s best to let it go. She hopes that she didn’t say anything to freak Sammy out, but his gaze is now fully directed at the floor now.

Ron meets Emily’s eye, though, and he seems to be just as perceptive about the situation at hand if his sympathetic wince is anything to go by.

“Ben, how about you come with me to get the paperwork you need?” Ron butts his head meaningfully down the hallway. “Leave Sammy here a chance to get to know our lovely Ms. Potter.”

“Oh, Ron,” Emily rolls her eyes, but she lets Ron get away with the flattery a couple of times a week, so this can just be one of them. And she does want to get to know Sammy, anyway.

Ben’s huge, worried eyes flicker between Sammy and Ron. Emily knows that Ben’s never felt this close to a guest before – he’d often confided in her that he wished the Amnesty residents would treat him with more respect and less like an errand boy. Sammy clearly thinks more highly of him, if his attachment to Ben’s hip is anything to go by.

“I’ll be fine,” Sammy tells Ben, who bites his lip.

“Okay, just – holler if you need anything!”

There’s a moment of silence as Ben and Ron disappear down the short hallway into Ron’s office, and Emily purposefully takes Sammy’s elbow the same way Ben did to guide him into the museum. He lets her, though remains stiff.

“Here’s our authentic Bigfoot footprint,” Emily takes him to the glass-incased first exhibit. She knows perfectly well that Ron just stumbled on the thing out in the woods, and it was likely an overlarge bear, but hey – if it sells, it sells. “I’m guessing you’re not too big on the local myths and legends, though.”

“Not really,” Sammy chuckles, and Emily can feel his arm relax ever so slightly against hers. “I’d heard some before, of course but Kepler sort of…. takes the phenomenon to extremes.”

“We’re that sort of place,” Emily agrees. “But there’s much more to Kepler than the monsters. We have some beautiful forests here, as I’m sure you’ve seen.”

“Jack takes me hiking some days, when I’m – feeling okay,” Sammy says, his voice small like he isn’t sure how much he should say. Emily automatically moves a little closer to him. “Ben came along once but he was bitten by some bug he doesn’t like and pouted for hour, claiming that’s why he hates the outdoors.”

“Oh, Classic Ben,” Emily grins, picturing the indignant look on Ben’s face _so_ clearly, hearing Jack’s ringing laugh in response as well. “But – do you not feel okay, Sammy? Are you sick?”

She looks up at him – he’s a few inches taller than she is, but not a giant like Ron, so meeting his soft brown eyes is easy. She expects him to look away, but Sammy meets her gaze.

“I have a…back injury,” Sammy says in a way that’s clearly not fully indicative of what’s going on, but Emily would never push for information on something so personal. “It makes it a little harder to move around.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily tells him, and makes a split-second decision to take his hand in hers. “That must be difficult, especially if you’re someone who enjoys the outdoors. I hope you feel better by winter – it would be a shame to miss out on Kepler’s skiing season.”

Sammy examines the Bigfoot footprint for a moment before he says, quieter than a whisper, “We didn’t have skiing, where I lived before.”

Emily’s eyes dart between Sammy and the empty hallway. None of the Amnesty residents she knows ever come this close to discussing where they came from. They tend to act like they just sprang up here from nowhere, and Jack and Ben act exactly the same, avoiding questions at all costs.

It wouldn’t hurt to ask Sammy. That’s just making conversation, even if it’s a conversation that makes Emily’s breath catch in her throat.

“Where are you from?”

“Uh,” Sammy swallows. “Florida.”

Emily is almost certain the answer is rehearsed. She doesn’t, and won’t, push.

Since the first time Ben took her home to Amnesty Lodge, when they were both still students, Emily had inklings that Amnesty wasn’t exactly what it seemed on the surface. Since moving to Kepler permanently, her suspicions have morphed into a theory that remains nebulous and half-formed, but one that she’s certain of all the same.

With a name like Amnesty, the people who move there must be in some kind of Witness Protection Program. At the very least, they’re here because something terrible happened to them before they arrived.

If Emily wasn’t sure before, Sammy’s presence here makes her more certain in her correctness. The way he flinches, the stiffness of his motion, his general reluctance to disturb the air around him – by no means is Emily an expert, but she likes to think she understands the human condition better than the average woman. Maybe because she’s a writer by trade, or just empathetic and perceptive.

Sammy Stevens, whoever he may be, is a man who’s been through a terrible, traumatic ordeal.

“Well,” Emily leans into his side. “I’m very glad you’re here in Kepler now. It’s not often that Ben takes a shine to someone to quick – I think the last time it happened it when he met me.”

Sammy gives her a small but happy smile, and Emily falters just slightly. She needs to tell Ben. She needs to tell Ben soon, now, tomorrow, right now, right when he comes back, that she doesn’t care what happened before, that she wants to be with him, always wants to –

“Hey, the footprint! I was with Ron when we found that.”

Emily, simultaneously relieved and jarred by Ben’s voice, turns back around. She doesn’t mind, because Sammy’s eyes light up when they meet Ben’s. It’s so good for Ben to have people. Ben has so much love inside of him, he can’t possibly give it all to just Jack and Emily – no matter how much Emily may want more of it.

“You were nine when I found that thing. All _you_ did was cry in the back of my car,” Ron comes up behind Ben, rolling his eyes. Ben doesn’t notice, too busy attaching himself to Sammy’s other side. Emily steps away, but Ben smiles at her before she does in thanks.

“Hasn’t grown much since then, I guess,” Sammy says, which makes Ron burst into hearty laughter and gets Ben scowling and kicking Sammy’s shin lightly, perhaps further proving Sammy’s point.

“You’re all so cruel to me,” Ben complains, and then turns to Emily. “We have to get back to Amnesty, but are we still on for dinner on Wednesday?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it,” Emily promises, then adds, both to be nice and because she hopes that she can be of some help in getting Sammy to adjust to life in Kepler, “Sammy, you’re more than welcome to come, too. And Jack. I haven’t seen Jack in ages.”

“You know our Mr. Wright, always keeping himself busy with something or other,” Ron says with a shake of his head. “I hear Sammy’s keeping him engaged with the rest of civil society, though.”

“I guess,” Sammy seems a bit embarrassed at the comment, but he’s genuine when he turns to Emily, “Thanks for inviting us, Emily. I’ll talk to Jack.”

“If anyone can convince him to leave his room, it’s the pair of us,” Ben bumps his hip against Sammy’s. “Two intrepid troopers on our most dangerous mission yet – get Jack Wright out of his room.”

They all laugh, and begin to say their goodbyes, Ron loading Ben down with various folders and files, half of which he passes off to Sammy.

It isn’t until Ben hugs Emily goodbye at the door and Emily’s mind wanders back to her work that she remembers she wanted to ask Ben about her article.

“Oh, before you go,” Emily catches Ben’s hand in hers, then quickly lets it fall. “I’m working on a piece for the Lamplighter. About a month ago, did you hear this absolutely bloodcurdling scream? It was up by Amnesty, you _must_ have.”

Emily hadn’t exactly expected anything too helpful, so she can’t help but be concerned when Ben goes almost white. Emily hears Ron start to cough behind her.

“I didn’t hear a goddamn thing that night and I was up that way,” Ron rumbles, his tone nearly imploring Emily to let this go – but why should she let it go? It’s just a question. 

“So you’ve said, Ron,” Emily doesn’t turn back, because she is actually a bit on edge now. Ben bites his lip hard enough that it probably hurts. “But Ben? Did you hear anything?

“Nope!” Ben says far too quickly, and Emily raises both of her eyebrows at him. She doesn’t appreciate being lied to, and Ben clearly realizes that if the way he hangs his head is anything to go by. “Well – okay – maybe I heard _something._ But not anything…odd. It just sounded like –”

Ben pauses, screwing up his face, and not in the cute, pleasant way that Emily likes. He takes a hold of Sammy’s elbow again, something painful about the way manages to get out his next words.

“Like a dying animal.”

It isn’t until much later that night after stewing about why Ben would try to keep something so seemingly inconsequential from her that Emily realizes Sammy hadn’t said another word before leaving the Cryptonomica. She doesn’t remember the look on his face, or any noises he’d made, but she knows for a fact that Ben didn’t let go of Sammy’s elbow again until they were well out the door.


End file.
